James Milner has written his name in history as the Premier League’s record appearances maker — but it very nearly wasn’t this way.
The 40-year-old made his 654th Premier League appearance by starting Brighton & Hove Albion’s 2-0 win at Brentford on Saturday, therefore eclipsing the previous record of 653 games set by former Aston Villa and Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry, a close friend and former team-mate.
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Milner’s top-flight career started with boyhood club Leeds United as a 16-year-old in 2002, then continued through spells with Newcastle, Villa and Manchester City, plus 61 caps for England. He joined Brighton on a free transfer in 2023 following eight years at Liverpool.
He has been the picture of professionalism and consistency throughout those 24 years, but a moment of history that has seemed inevitable for much of this season appeared a distant dream 18 months ago, when Milner suffered a career-threatening injury in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.
He was ruled out for nearly nine months by complications arising from knee surgery.
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